Epoxy coat a shower stall?

[ladderwell]

We've got an older shower stall, and was wondering if epoxy shield with flakes would work over the top of fiberglass, if the surface was properly prepared. Just trying to eek out a few more years out of this stall, and interested in trying something different. Your thoughts on this topic would be much appreciated.

 

[Voi]

I've gone over cured polyester with epoxy before and it worked fine. Just a scuff sand and wipe down with denatured alcohol.

The epoxy was not Epoxy Coat and the polyester did not have a gel coat top coat so not a direct comparison.

I've installed a lot of epoxy on vertical surfaces and it likes to run. With some epoxies you can order a faster curing hardener and/or you can warm up the epoxy before mixing. But it still likes to run. I can only imagine that an epoxy designed for garage floors is designed to flow out and self-level and will end up running on vertical surfaces.

Probably best to use a product made for this application. Or get a sandable gel coat that is designed to bond to old polyester. You can get them with metal flake.

 

[benwah]

I don't see why it wouldn't work. I am not familiar with that product but epoxy is commonly used is shower areas in sports facilities. Roll it on in coats thick enough to cover your substrate but thin enough so it won't run.

 

[Shea]

As long as your stall floor does not flex under weight you should be OK. If it does, the epoxy can crack where it flexes.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

I would use a flexible epoxy primer at a minimum.

 

[over40pirate]

For a fiberglass shower stall, I would fill any defects with epoxy and sand fair. Then paint with a 2 part polyurethane marine paint. stuff wears like iron.
Or replace the stall now. Prices aren't going down!

 

[James-W]

Or replace the stall now. Prices aren't going down!

I tend to agree with that. My opinion is, instead of spending money now for a shower stall repair, then spend money later on for a new shower stall, it would be in your best financial interest to just bite the bullet and install the new shower stall right away. As has been said, the price of the new shower stall probably isn't going down, so replacing it now would most likely save you money on the future purchase price. Besides that, by replacing the shower stall now you save whatever money that a repair would cost you.